This invention relates to an air supply device for a vehicle seat.
An air supply device with an air channel arranged on the pressure side of a blower, which channel comprises an air discharge opening in the upper region of the seat for supplying the head, shoulder and neck area of an occupant of the seat with an adjustable airflow, is already known from German document DE 100 54 010 C1. In this device, a heating element is provided inside the air channel between the blower and the air discharge opening.
It is an object of the invention to provide an air supply device of the kind mentioned in which the airflow is overall more homogeneous and better adjustable.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by the claimed air supply device. Advantageous embodiments with expedient developments of the invention are defined by the dependent claims.
In the air supply device according to the invention, a grid element, by which turbulence of the airflow which has arisen inside the heating element is moderated, or the airflow is homogenized after flowing through the heating element, is arranged inside the air channel between the air discharge opening and the heating element. This results in an airflow which emerges more uniformly and at a slightly lower rate from the air discharge opening of the air supply device and which overall feels very comfortable to the occupant of the seat. Moreover, the grid element has the effect that an air build-up develops—seen in flow direction—between the blower and the grid element, as a result of which the heating element can transfer more heat to the airflow. By virtue of this, higher outlet temperatures can be achieved at the air discharge opening. Lastly, the grid element also serves as a protection against dirt particles, which could penetrate as far as the heating element via the air discharge opening and the air channel.
A particularly good homogenizing effect of the grid element has been achieved when it is arranged transversely, and in particular at right angles, to the flow direction of the airflow.
It has moreover been found to be advantageous if the grid element covers the entire cross section of the air channel. By virtue of this, on the one hand particularly good protection against dirt particles is afforded, and on the other hand a particularly well homogenized airflow is achieved.
By means of a grid element arranged inside the air channel close to the air discharge opening, it is also possible to achieve the result that the airflow emerges particularly homogeneously at the air discharge opening in the direction of the occupant of the seat.
It has furthermore been found to be especially advantageous if the plurality of flowthrough openings of the grid element can be varied in their clear cross section. By virtue of this, both the homogeneity of the airflow and its rate can be influenced. The clear cross section of the flowthrough openings of the grid element can be varied especially easily by using two grids which are arranged next to one another and displaceable in relation to one another. In this connection, the two grids preferably have the same mesh sizes. If in this connection the meshes of each grid overlap, the clear cross section of the flowthrough openings is at its greatest. If on the other hand the two grids are displaced in relation to one another by half a mesh width in the vertical and the horizontal direction, the smallest clear cross section of the flowthrough openings is obtained.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention will emerge from the following description of two preferred illustrative embodiments and also with reference to the drawings.